It took Anderson getting knocked unconscious in the first half to awaken the slumbering Magic and help propel them to a something-for-everyone, 128-125 victory over the Detroit Pistons at Orlando Arena.

Dumars had 41 points, hitting five consecutive 3-point baskets in a span of 2:25 late in the game. His last came with 1:50 remaining for a 125-122 lead.

But the Pistons never scored again.

Dennis Scott tied the score by hitting three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt with 1:01 remaining. A free throw by O'Neal and two by Anthony Bowie provided the victory margin.

The Pistons had a final chance to tie, getting the ball with 8 seconds remaining, but time elapsed as guard Lindsey Hunter dribbled the game away and never got a shot off.

''We had brain lock at the end,'' Pistons coach Don Chaney said.

For much of the game, it was the power of O'Neal inside against the jump-shooting of Dumars, Allan Houston and Grant Hill. The Pistons couldn't slow down O'Neal, and the Magic couldn't touch Dumars and Co.

With Hardaway, Anderson and Brian Shaw - the Magic's top three guards - out of action and Brooks Thompson in foul trouble, Orlando used a backcourt of reserves with Bowie and Scott.

And somehow it worked. Scott had 30 points and hit 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Bowie, who played point guard much of the night, had 16 points and only one turnover.

Anderson, who incurred a concussion and was hospitalized overnight, probably has a throbbing headache this morning. That may have won the game for Orlando.

''I think this game, momentum-wise, shifted when Anderson got hurt,'' Chaney said. ''We had the momentum early, but after he went out, we never quite regained it again. That helped them.''

The Magic were trailing, 51-33, and playing one of their most uninspired home games of the season when Anderson crashed to the floor with 9:21 remaining in the second quarter. By halftime - after O'Neal scored 16 of his points in the next nine minutes - the Magic trailed by only six. The fire returned in the second half.

''We came into the game with the wrong frame of mind mentally, and without any energy physically,'' Magic coach Brian Hill said. ''Our defense at the beginning was atrocious. After Nick went out, everyone picked up their game.''

The Magic didn't have enough guards to play, but they had the emotion they lacked at the beginning.

''There was just no intensity until Nick went down,'' Scott said. ''I don't know why. That must have been our wake-up call. It kind of kicked in after that. Maybe it scared us.''

Playing cautiously without their normal guards, the Magic actually took care of the ball. They committed just seven turnovers, which ties the franchise record.

Hardaway, their All-Star point guard, was out with esophagitis, which will keep him from traveling today when the team leaves for a two-game weekend road trip. Shaw, normally their backup point guard, didn't play because of a groin pull, but he is expected to play Friday in Detroit.

When Thompson, a rookie getting his second start, got his fourth foul with 5:35 remaining in the second quarter, it meant the lineup was going to be altered dramatically.

''Somebody had to bring the ball up the court,'' said Bowie, who was given that unfamiliar role. ''We got the win, and that's all that counts.''

The Magic never led in the second quarter, led only for a few seconds in the third, and had their lead stolen by Dumars in the fourth before finally taking control at the end.

The Pistons scored 39 points in the first quarter, the most scored against the Magic this season.